


Aiichirou

by robotjellyfish



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 14:38:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3492062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotjellyfish/pseuds/robotjellyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke never intended to make friends at Samezuka, but Nitori managed to worm his way into his life and now the least he can do is call the other boy by his name. An easy task...right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aiichirou

**Author's Note:**

> Sousuke is probably a little ooc bu I just wanted to write him getting all flustered over address Ai by his first name ok

Calling somebody by their first name, when you were so used to calling them by their family name was a difficult habit to break especially for someone like Sousuke. He was used to only calling people by their family name, not out of politeness but to keep them at arm’s length, to keep them from getting too close. There were of course a few exceptions, friends that he held far too close for his own good but they were few and far between. 

Most people didn’t really question him about it though, after all it wasn’t unusual to address people by their family name and most people just put it down to his cool demeanour. If it made him seem aloof and a little unapproachable he didn’t care, in fact he welcomed it. Or he had. 

He hadn’t come to Samezuka to make friends, he’d only had one goal in mind and even if it destroyed him he was determined to reach that goal. He had been angry, selfish and single minded and honestly he wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone hated. But the whole team had accepted him, brooding attitude and all, and then there was Nitori. 

Nitori had made a rather odd first impression, the boy had seemed harmless enough if a little overeager but there was something about him that made Sousuke feel uneasy. He hadn’t been able to put his finger on it at first, Nitori wasn’t a particularly skilled swimmer so was no threat to him though he obviously held quite a torch for Rin which irritated him a bit, but it wasn’t until he saw Nitori practice that he finally figure it out. Although his skills were nothing to brag about his desire and determination to get better and swim in the relay were unrivalled. Nitori threw himself into practice with a reckless abandon disguised as eager determination, something Sousuke has seen before. He knew the signs and what could happen and it made him angry because Nitori reminded him of himself, of the way he’d been before his injury and Sousuke had wanted nothing to do with it. 

And yet despite his standoffishness Nitori had confided in him. When he’d found the boy on the stairs that night he hadn’t exactly been very friendly when he told Nitori to move, he’d fully intended to just leave the other boy there even when he could hear the tears in his voice as he apologised for being in the way and shuffled over. Even so his steps had been hesitant, could he really just leave him there? And then, without any prompting, Nitori had called out to him. Why Nitori had chosen to confide in him he would never know, but he knew that the other boy had probably been looking for someone to talk to for a long time now. There was no way Nitori could talk to Rin, the person he idolised or to Momo, the one who was younger than him and yet had already surpassed him, about his worries. Maybe he had just been bottling it up for so long that the pressure had become too much and he’d burst, Sousuke had just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Or maybe Nitori was more perceptive than he realised and could see their similarities and knew that Sousuke would understand. 

Nitori’s dream was just like his own. Wanting to swim with Rin. Wanting to be a part of something important to Rin so they too could be important to him. So he’d encouraged Nitori, despite the snide comments he’d made about the boy whenever he wasn’t around he encourage him, tried to make him feel better and he had to admit, that smile had been worth it. Of course those feeling hadn’t magically gone away, Nitori had still felt inferior and still pushed himself far too hard until Sousuke couldn’t bear to watch him any longer. 

He’d reached out to Nitori of his own accord then, mostly out of fear for the boy and his safety. He didn’t want what had happened to him to happen to someone else, especially not to someone who shared the same dream as him. That would be too cruel. Nitori had accepted his help earnestly and turned out to be a good student and an even better swimmer than he’d anticipated. With Sousuke’s guidance Nitori had finally been able to draw out his full potential, the potential Rin had seen in him all along. Of course Sousuke would say he’d done nothing. Just given a few friendly tips but Nitori would smile and emphatically insist it was all thanks to his teachings. 

They had become friends, silently understanding each other and yet Sousuke had only been able to address him as ‘Nitori’. Nitori didn’t seem to mind; well he never raised any complaint anyway. Although Rin would call him ‘Ai’ and Nitori would address Rin, despite Rin’s many attempts to get him to drop the honorific, as Rin-senpai. Sousuke naturally became Yamazaki-senpai, and Sousuke stuck with Nitori. The difference between them was that Sousuke knew Nitori called him by his family out of politeness while Sousuke was still trying to keep some distance between them. Nitori had unexpectedly become uncomfortably close and he did not like it and yet whenever he heard anyone calling Nitori ‘Ai’ he felt an irritating sense of jealousy. 

\- - - 

It was getting late, both of them lying in their beds knowing they should sleep but not feeling tired enough to.

“Hey Sousuke, why do you still call Ai ‘Nitori’? You guys are friends now right?” Rin asked as if reading his mind. The matter had been bugging him for a while now and Sousuke was unusually quiet that night. He’d also been avoiding talking to Nitori all through practice, which Rin had probably noticed. 

“No reason,” Sousuke replied, tensing at the question though luckily there was no was Rin could see him. 

“Hmmm….then you should just call him Ai, it’s kinda weird if you keep calling him Nitori.”

“You think so? Has he said something to you about it or something?” Sousuke asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it as if he didn’t really care but truthfully he was nervous. One of his biggest concerns over not calling Nitori by his first name was that he might be inadvertently hurting the other boy’s feelings. 

“No, why? Are you worried?” Rin smirked, lifting his leg he gave the dip in the mattress above him a good kick. 

“Tsk, why would I be worried?” Sousuke snorted, leaning up he grabbed his pillow and swung it into the bunk below, hopping to hit Rin but all he accomplished was having his pillow snatched. 

“You are worried aren’t you?!” Rin laughed and Sousuke could feel his face heat up.

“I don’t think Ai minds if you keep calling him Nitori, but you know it would make him really happy if you called him Ai.” Rin spoke from experience, remembering the brilliant smile that had lit up Ai’s face the first time he’d called him by his first name. 

“Rin.”

“Yeah?” 

“Give me my pillow back.” 

“Nope!” 

 

\- - -

 

“Ai.” No that sounded too familiar. Just saying the name like that, out loud to himself made him feel oddly flustered. 

“Ai-chan?” No he knew Nitori didn’t like that, he always looked so irritated when Nagisa called him that. 

“Ai-kun?” Now that sounded too stiff, it didn’t suit Nitori at all. 

“Ai-san?” Sousuke glared at his reflection, no, that didn’t sound right either. 

“Aiichirou.” He paused, thinking of the way that name sounded. There were few people who called Nitori by his full name, they either went with ‘Nitori’ or ‘Ai’. 

“Aiichirou,” he repeated it again. Sure the name was long but it wasn’t too hard to say and the syllables rolled pleasantly off his tongue.   
His mind made up Sousuke nodded at his reflection and left the bathroom. He was ready. 

 

\- - -

 

The task was easier said than done. Saying the name out loud to his own reflection had been easy, but actually addressing Nitori in person was proving rather difficult. Trying to do so during swimming practice probably wasn’t a good idea either. There were far too many people around, far too many people to overhear him and far too many people stealing Nitori’s attention away from him. It was impossible. 

He’d tried to greet Nitori normal, right at the beginning of practice. But before he could even say hello Momo had come running over and dragged Nitori away. He would have tried suggesting they pair up for the warm up but Momo, again, had already claimed Nitori. There wasn’t really any room to talk during practice what with everyone either swimming or stretching so Sousuke has stood against the wall, glumly watching everyone else practice.

Rin had shot him more than a few knowing grins, though had done absolutely nothing to help. Sousuke was really starting to reconsider the whole thing when Rin called for the swimmers in the pool to take a break and switch with those who’d were out on the sides waiting. This was his chance, Nitori was coming out of the pool and Momo was diving in. 

Nitori wandered off, moving to a quiet corner to do his cooling down exercises. He’d gone a good distance away from the others, making sure he wasn’t in any ones way. It was perfect. 

Deciding it was best to not let his chance slip away from him Sousuke cleared his throat and squared his shoulders Sousuke walked over to Nitori, trying his best to project an air of normality and confidence. 

“Hay…Ai…ichi…rou…” he coughed; his voice cracking as he stumbled over the name in a self-conscious rush. He’d sounded absolutely ridiculous and he longed to run away but Nitori was looking at him now. 

“Sorry Yamazaki-senpai, did you say something?” he asked sweetly, looking up at Sousuke with wide, clueless eyes. Good, he hadn’t heard him. That didn’t really make Sousuke feel any better though. 

“Nothing!” He snapped quickly, turning sharply on his heel he began to walk away.

“Just need to get something from the supply room, tell Rin I’ll be back soon.” 

“Oh do you need a hand?” He heard Nitori jumped to his feet, the quick slap of footsteps as the other boy jogged to catch up with him.   
“No no!” Sousuke, panicking slightly now, snapped. 

“I’ll be fine, you need to finish your cooling down exercises and when you do that try doing those other exercises we’ve been practicing. You still need to build up some strength,” Sousuke shouted over his shoulder before making his escape. 

“Right!” Nitori replied eagerly and quickly went back to his stretched, Sousuke was safe. For now. 

\- - -

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, it’s just a name,” Sosuke muttered, berating himself while repeatedly hitting his head against the wall of the store room. Why was he getting so worked up about the whole thing? 

“What did that wall ever do to you?” Hearing Rin’s voice Sousuke didn’t even bother to stop, he only cast a side long glare at his friend. 

“Whatever, I just came to tell you I’m putting you and Ai on clean up duty tonight, have fun!” Rin grinned cheerfully before quickly making his exit, not giving Sousuke the chance to protest. 

\- - 

Clean up duty wasn’t exactly difficult, after each practice two people would always check the perimeter of the pool, collecting any forgotten belongings and generally making sure everything was in its place. It was a simple job. 

Being alone with Nitori at the pool after hours though was proving rather difficult. Had Rin done this to actually help him or did the red head just enjoy seeing him suffer? Sousuke really wasn’t too sure and he was so focused on not saying something stupid that he’d barely uttered two words to Nitori. They’d worked in an awkward silence that echoed loudly in the empty pool. 

“I’ve finished putting the equipment away; are you done Yamazaki-senpai?” 

“Yeah…thanks,” Sousuke replied.

“Ok let’s go then, I’ll get the lights.” 

“Thanks Aiichirou,” the name had slipped out of his mouth as he walked towards the door without him even realising. The only clue he had that something was off was the sound of Ai’s footsteps suddenly stopping, the lights were still on. 

It only registered with him what he’d said when he turned around to face Ai, about to ask what was wrong only to find the other boy staring at him in wide eyed surprise. 

Sousuke tensed, wondering if he should apologise for what he said. Maybe he’d been too presumptuous after all. 

“Um…do you want to go to the gym after this, Ai?” he asked, deciding against the apology. 

“Yes! I’d love too, Sousuke-senpai!” It had obviously been the right choice. Ai, now over his shock smiled brightly and quickly ran to switch the lights off, jogging back to Sousuke’s side a moment later. 

They left side by side, Ai’s smile was big and bright and seemed permanently fixed on his face. A smile, Sousuke felt, that was worth all the anguish he’d gone through for it.


End file.
